Thursday, August 8, 2013

Pete Townshend

Pete
Townshend, best known as the guitarist and songwriter for rock group The Who,
has been deeply devoted to his musical career throughout his entire life. Being a guitar player and songwriter myself,
Townshend’s hard work and dedication to music inspires me. Having written over 200 songs for The Who’s
11 albums, including concept albums and rock operas, along with his 7 solo
albums, his love for music is evident. This
summer I have began reading his autobiography “Who I Am” and with the turn of
each page I am engulfed by his incredible story and his influence on every
person he comes into contact with.

Townshend
became known for his bizarre stage performances where he would smash his guitar
at the end of a set and his signature move: the windmill, but he was much more
than just an entertaining performer. “When I grew up, what was
interesting for me was that music was color and life was gray. So music for me has
always been more than entertainment,” Townshend has stated. With every song he wrote, he told a story.He had a vision for every album he worked on
that expressed something new.As I read
his autobiography I’m amazed to learn about all the hidden meanings behind
every word he writes.His everlasting
influence on rock music got him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as
a member of The Who in 1990.To this
day, he is still inspiring and sharing his one true love, music, with the
world.

This is a 28 minute long YouTube video of different clips of The
Who when they played at Woodstock in 1969. This video displays Pete
Townshend’s energetic stage performance including his famous “windmill” move
and him banging his guitar on the ground at the end of the show.

This link is Rolling Stone’s review on Pete
Townshend and his music. He is described
as “one of the most important songwriters of Sixties and Seventies rock, as
well as a dynamic performer and underrated guitarist” in this article and goes
on to give a short summary of his life and musical career.

This link shares the background and history of Pete Townshend and
how he began his musical career with The Who. This website also has blog
entries written by Townshend along with a photo gallery and tour updates for
The Who.

“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.” –William Faulkner